


hello again, friend of a friend

by veel



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Grayson | Purpled Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Grayson | Purpled-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Modern Era, Older Sibling Luke | Punz, Running Away, Suicidal Thoughts, Younger Sibling Grayson | Purpled (Video Blogging RPF), its just like. three sentences though, purpled runs away smh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29456475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veel/pseuds/veel
Summary: He’s alone. He’s known for so long, but he didn’t want to come to terms with it.
Relationships: Andrew | gamerboy80 & Grayson | Purpled (Video Blogging RPF), Grayson | Purpled & Luke | Punz, Grayson | Purpled & SammyGreen (Video Blogging RPF), purpled & astelic, purpled & wallibear
Comments: 10
Kudos: 170
Collections: modern au pog





	hello again, friend of a friend

He’s alone. He’s known for so long, but he didn’t want to come to terms with it. If he admits he’s lonely, than what would others think of him? How would they react to seeing Purpled, so strong and proud, crying on the roof of his house in the middle of the night?

Punz wouldn’t care. Despite them being brothers, they’ve never really been all that close. They have their moments, but Punz would be better off without a brother. Purpled always saw himself as a bother. Punz would be leaving in a couple months for college as well, and Purpled sure as hell didn’t want to be at home alone with their shitty parents.

Tommy and Tubbo wouldn’t care. They haven’t spoken in so long, so what was the point of thinking about them? Purpled missed the days when they’d hang out after school and just be dumbasses together. Sometimes he regrets isolating himself, but then he remembers how much happier they look with out him.

He doesn’t have any friends. He chose to keep it that way. If no one got close to him, they couldn’t hurt him. He doesn’t want to be hurt. He doesn’t want to be lied to or used. What he does want, though, is to be left to his own devices.

For a split second he thinks about staying. He thinks about how worried Punz would get. How Tommy and Tubbo would be concerned about him even though they haven’t spoken in ages. People he’s never talked to would be trying to find him.

That’s just a split second, though.

His mind is already made up.

He grips the straps of his backpack tightly after wiping stray tears off his face. He avoids digging his palms into the buttons on the straps. He’d gotten the buttons as a gift from Tubbo when they were little. He’s never taken them off since.

He hops down off the roof. It’s low enough that he doesn’t get hurt, but high enough that he can’t quite climb back up without a ladder. He takes one final look at his home before turning his back to it.

Leaving is the hardest part, he realizes. He doesn’t really want to go. He convinced himself that he did, but deep down he just wants to be loved.

He blames his problems on himself. He thinks the reason his parents are always gone is because of him. Whenever it was just Punz, they were present. They cared about Punz. They actually loved him. When Purpled came along, he was informed, his parents become much more distant. He tries to reason that they’re busy. It fails. His mind always goes back to the explanation that it’s because of him.

His feet hit the pavement with a splash as he walks. It’s been raining for about half an hour at this point, and the ground is soaking. He doesn’t much mind. It’s not like it’ll go on for much longer.

In all honesty, he should’ve thought this through more. He doesn’t know where he’s going. He just knows that he needs to be away. Whether it be for one night or years, he doesn’t care. He just needs a break.

He doesn’t know how long he’s walking for when he reaches a bridge. He pauses, backtracking and going to the edge. He peers over, looking at how high it is. He concludes that he’ll die if he falls.

He thinks about jumping. It isn’t like he’d be missed. And yet, he doesn’t. He can’t bring himself to. He has so much left in the world that he wants to do. He decides that tonight isn’t the night.

“You should be in bed.” The unfamiliar voice causes Purpled to jump slightly. He whips around, ready to fight. The man only laughs and throws his hands up in defense. “Chill, I’m not here to hurt you.”

The man has half black and half white hair. His laugh is gentle and his demeanour is unthreatening, but Purpled is still untrustworthy of him. He has heterochromia with one eye being green and the other being brown. They both sparkle with friendliness.

Purpled subconsciously relaxes his shoulders.

“I think I know you. You’re Grayson, right?”

“I go by Purpled.”

“Okay, cool.” The man moves closer to Purpled. “You can just call me Eighty. I’m friends with Punz.” With that, Purpled backs away. Eighty freezes, letting Purpled move away.

They stand in silence for a moment. Purpled’s heart is practically beating out of his chest. This man knows Punz. He probably knows that Purpled is running away. Maybe Punz told him, but Purpled thinks he’s still asleep.

“Running away or just going out for the night?” Eighty asks before turning his gaze out to the water below them. Purpled gets impossibly more nervous.

“Did Punz call?”

“Just got off the phone with him. He’s worried about you, kid.” Eighty turns back to Purpled and takes another step towards him. Purpled takes two defensive steps backwards. Eighty freezes again.

“I’m not going back, you can’t make me go back.”

“Kid-”

“Fuck off!” Purpled shouts before bolting in the opposite direction. He hears Eighty chasing him, but he isn’t worried. He knows he can outrun this guy. And he does. He loses him in about ten minutes, sprinting through traffic and hopping fences.

It’s three weeks before he gets stopped by another person.

He’s made it so far from home and has no clue where he’s going. He’s living off of stolen food and drinks. He sleeps in abandoned buildings infested with rats. He knows how skinny he’s getting and how long it’s been since he had a full meal.

He wants to go home. He wants to call Punz to let him know that he’s alive. He wants to talk to the kids in his class that might consider him a friend. Hell, he’ll take having a single conversation with his parents.

He’s sitting on a park bench now. It’s at least three in the morning. He knows he shouldn’t be here, but he has no other place to go. He thought about falling asleep here, but he isn’t tired. How can he be? He’s in New York City right now, he could get shanked if he falls asleep.

He takes a small bite of his day old bread. He doesn’t want to eat too much of it so he has something to eat tomorrow. Though, he feels so hungry that he could eat an entire fucking horse. He washes it down with water he snagged from a random grocery store in Tennessee.

Then, he hears rustling from a bush near him. He immediately jumps out of the bench, ready to bolt. Then he hears laughing. He eases a little, sitting back down. He realizes that he crushed the bread in his hands.

Three people come into his line of vision. They seem like they’re trying to sneak around. In the front of the group is a girl. She’s wearing a pink and lavender hoodie that’s much to big for her. Behind he is a boy that’s dressed way to nicely for whatever they’re trying to pull. He has a white button up shirt on with a blazer on top of it. He’s wearing sunglasses for no fucking reasons. The final boy is wearing what Purpled can only assume to be a Carebear onesie. The only other thing he can make out that the boy is wearing is a pair of regular glasses.

They’re talking. Purpled can’t hear what they are saying, but he knows they’re talking. He shifts slightly closer into the shadows. The girl makes eye contact with him.

Her eyes widen. She backs away slightly. She points at Purpled. The other two boys notice him as well. Purpled pales, but it isn’t visible in the dim light of the moon. He shoves his water and bread into his backpack before standing up. His knuckles are white with how tightly he’s gripping his backpack strap.

“Oi, the hell are you doing?” The sunglasses boy-whisper shouts. He’s Australian. Purpled didn’t expect that, but he wasn’t going to complain.

He subconsciously moves further into the shadows. The Carebear boy scoffs. He shoves his bag into the girl’s hands before walking over to Purpled. That’s when Purpled realizes he has nowhere to go; he’s backed against a fence.

“Who are you?” Carebear boy asks. Purpled can’t seem to get his mouth to work. Carebear boy frowns. “I don’t recognize you. You from here?” Purpled shakes his head. His shoulders are tense and he feels sick. No one’s noticed him in so long. “What’s your name?” The boy tries again. “Why are you here? How old are you? Are you still in school? Why are you so skinny”

“Give it a rest, Walli,” the girl pipes up. Carebear boy - Walli - frowns at her. She moves to stand next to Walli. “Hi, I’m Astelic. That over there is Sammy,” she introduces. “Can you speak?” Every part of Purpled’s body is screaming to run, but they seem friendly enough.

“Yeah,” he answers quietly. Astelic nods. Sammy takes a seat on the bench. Walli sits next to him.

“What’s your name?”

“Purpled.” He likes Astelic. She’s nice. Walli seemed nice as well, and Sammy seemed really cool. “How- how old are you guys?” His voice is hoarse. He hadn’t used it in a while.

“I’m sixteen, and so is Sammy. Walli is seventeen. You?” Purpled relaxes as that. They’re just kids as well.

“Fourteen,” he answers.

“Where are you from, if not from here?” Sammy asks. Purpled frowns slightly.

“This seems like an interrogation.”

“We want to know why you’re out here.”

“I’m from California.”

“Visiting for the summer, eh?” Sammy gets more comfortable on the bench by moving closer to Walli. Purpled looks down.

“Not exactly. I ran away a few weeks ago.” Purpled wants to run. He wants to get away from these people. They remind him of Eighty. He doesn’t want another interaction like that.

Astelic nods. She eyes him up and down. Purpled feels insecure. He doesn’t like being analyzed like that.

“Follow me,” she demands. Sammy and Walli stand up, looking back at Purpled to see if he’s following. He does.

They don’t speak the entire time they’re walking. The streets of the city were crowded. The streets back at home aren’t crowded at night. Sure, there as some people there, but not many. Here he runs into someone every step he takes.

Astelic leads him to an apartment. A groan from Sammy leads Purpled to believe that Sammy lives there.

They enter the apartment. There aren’t any lights on and no one’s home. Purpled is confused as to why Sammy’s parents aren’t there.

“Parents are back in Australia for a few weeks,” Sammy explains in response to Purpled’s unasked question. Nevertheless, Purpled nods.

Walli goes over to the fridge. He grabs a soda and cracks it open before taking a big swig. Astelic rolls her eyes with a fond smile. She grabs a Coke and hands it to Sammy. She looks at Purpled.

“Want anything?”

“Water, please.” His voice is still hoarse. He hopes cleaner, cold water will help. Astelic nods before tossing a water bottle at him. He catches it, taking a big drink.

Walli sits down on the couch, turning on the television. Astelic sits down gently next to him. Sammy takes Purpled’s arm and ushers him into a nearby room.

Once Sammy turns the light on, Purpled gets a better look at it. It’s small and bare, but there’s a nice bed in the middle against the wall. There’s a nightstand next to the right side and a wardrobe near the left.

Sammy grabs something off the ground and hands it to Purpled before pushing him further into the room.

“Get some sleep, we can talk more tomorrow.” He leaves no room for argument as he shuts the door behind him. Purpled takes another look at the room. He sets his bag down on the nightstand. He lays down on the bed, covering himself with the blanket Sammy gave him. He passes out almost immediately. It’s the best sleep he’s gotten in a long time.

He’s gone before the other three wake up the next morning.

Exactly two and a half months after he left, Purpled returns home.

He’s exhausted from walking for so long. He’d seen every state in America, traveling around everyday. He ran out of food three days ago and is running off pure adrenaline. He wants to see Punz again.

He doesn’t know why he’s going back. He doesn’t really care for anything there, but he knows he’ll die if he doesn’t go back. He’s afraid to see what awaits him once he gets him.

It’s the middle of the day now. The blaring sun is making everything worse, especially since Purpled is about to fucking starve to death.

His head is covered with his hood as he walks down the street. He can’t risk getting recognized. Plus, he thinks he might was to leave again. He can’t imagine how upset Punz would be with him.

Purpled meant to return sooner, he really did. But the thought of Punz blowing up at him kept him away for a considerable amount of time. However, just thinking about how Punz was affected he thought it was better to prove that he’s still alive.

When he reaches his street, he sees Punz in the driveway. His hair is tucked into a manbun. It’s much longer than Purpled remembered. He seems angrier than what Purpled was used to. He was shoving suitcases and bags into the back of his car.

Purpled freezes. Today’s the day Punz is going to college.

He thinks about turning back. He thinks about running away again. He thinks about just disappearing off the face of the Earth. Something about seeing his brother, though, keeps him there.

He pulls his hood down. There’s no turning back now. He doesn’t give a shit if he gets recognized anymore; he’s finally seeing his brother again.

He walks hesitantly towards Punz, keeping his head down. Punz doesn’t seem to notice him. He’s so focused on getting his bags into his car that he doesn’t realize when Purpled is standing right next to him.

“Hi.”

Punz jumps out of his skin, dropping the bag he was holding. He trips over his feet backwards before finally looking at Purpled. His eyes widen.

“Purpled?” His voice is sad. It’s broken. It’s not the same as the one Purpled was so used to hearing. “You’re alive?”

“I’m sorry.” Purpled’s knees buckle as he’s overcome with pure emotion. He collapses into Punz’s arms, dropping his nearly unusable backpack onto the pavement.

Punz holds him tightly. Purpled feels something wet drop onto his shoulder. It’s Punz’s tears, he realizes. He didn’t realize Punz would be so distraught at his disappearance. As far as he was aware, Punz never gave a shit about him.

Purpled can tell that Punz is in disbelief when they pull out of the hug. He’s not sure if Punz even knows how to begin. He stands there for a few seconds. Punz furiously wipes at his eyes, trying to dry the tears.

Somehow, Purpled knows that they’ll be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> comment or i will cry <3 /j


End file.
